


I'll Be the Rock (That Will Be Strong for You)

by TheGaySmurf



Series: Life Is the Moments We Make (The Seconds We Take) [17]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Prompt Fill, Wynaught Brotp, also a side of, and Waverly always knows just what to do, because you know I can't resist, sometimes Nicole is the one who needs a little reassurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-21 18:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20698196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGaySmurf/pseuds/TheGaySmurf
Summary: Prompt:  "Don't focus on them, baby.  Just look at me.  I'm right here."and"I'm here, baby."Set a couple of days after the events of 3x07, but before diving into 3x08.





	I'll Be the Rock (That Will Be Strong for You)

**Author's Note:**

> Both of these prompts were sent to me by anons on Tumblr. 
> 
> Fic Title: "I'll Be" - Reba McEntire

“This was a _terrible_ idea.”

Waverly watches Nicole from bed as she fumbles with the buttons of her Class A uniform.

“I never should have agreed to this,” Nicole mumbles, beginning to pace. 

The floorboards creak under her feet, adding to the tension in the room. Waverly eventually crawls to the edge of the bed, reaching out to stop Nicole during one of her passes. 

_“Baby…”_ Waverly says, her voice low, heavy with a hint of something _else._ Nicole starts to relax at Waverly’s touch on her arm, but then her eyes go wide.

“Nope.” She stiffens under Waverly’s fingertips. “No. Nuh uh,” she protests, backing away. “That’s how I got into this situation in the first place.” She shakes her head and gestures wildly. “Because of that…” Waverly leaves the bed, stalking closer with a smirk on her face. “That…”

Nicole’s hands go limp at her sides as her train of thought derails completely out the window, unable to even finish her sentence when Waverly reaches up and grabs her by the tie, tugging her closer, careful not to dislodge the clip-on from its place at Nicole’s throat. She only stops when Nicole’s face is less than an inch away from her own.

“Yeah,” Nicole whispers, her breath ghosting across Waverly’s lips. _“That.”_

She tips her head forward slightly, intent on closing the distance, but Waverly just giggles and pushes her away playfully. Nicole grunts in surprise, and then immediately settles into a dramatic pout.

“You’re gonna be great, Nicole,” Waverly says, straightening Nicole’s collar and tie before smoothing out the wrinkles in the front of her shirt. “I don’t understand what you’re so worried about.”

“Giving a speech in front of hundreds of people?” Nicole squeaks. “What’s _not _to worry about?”

Waverly’s expression softens, and she takes Nicole’s face in her hands. Nicole holds her breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She’s supposed to be the strong and steady one, but _this…_ This is an entirely different ballgame.

“Hey,” Waverly says softly, stroking Nicole’s cheeks. “Nedley loves you. This town loves you. _Everybody loves you._ I mean it,” she murmurs, pulling Nicole forward into a quick, chaste kiss. “You’re gonna be great.”

Nicole searches Waverly’s eyes, wanting desperately to believe her, but the panic has already taken hold too deeply. She feels it creeping up her spine and twisting through her chest and making it hard to breathe.

“Waverly, I can’t do this,” Nicole gasps out, on the verge of hyperventilating. “We have to cancel. I can’t– I can’t–” 

_I can’t breathe._

“Nicole, look at me.” Waverly’s hold on Nicole’s head tightens, physically turning it until they’re face to face again. “Look at me. I’m here, baby.” Nicole’s panicked eyes finally settle on Waverly’s, and she nods her head slowly. “Breathe, Nicole. I’ve got you. Just take a breath.”

Nicole still feels the panic pounding in the back of her throat, but Waverly is like an anchor, grounding her, keeping her tethered to this moment. She hates feeling like this. Needing someone else to be strong for her. It makes her feel so... _vulnerable._ But she looks into Waverly’s eyes and sees nothing but love looking back at her – even if she can’t say it yet – and it’s somehow settling. 

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes and leans forward until her forehead rests against Waverly’s, and as she feels her heartrate start to slow, she reminds herself that this is her safe place.

Waverly lets her hands slide around from Nicole’s cheeks until they’re draped over her shoulders, pulling her gently down until Waverly can reach well enough to kiss her. It’s soft and slow, but it lingers until Nicole’s hands – which had been hanging uselessly at her sides – wrap around Waverly’s waist as she melts into Waverly’s embrace.

“Welcome back,” Waverly breathes against her lips, pressing another soft kiss to Nicole’s flushed cheek before nuzzling her face into Nicole’s neck and holding her close. Nicole makes no attempt to move, her hands still cradling Waverly snugly against her body. 

They stay like that for several minutes, lost in each other’s warmth as they listen to one another breathe in the quiet of the room. Nicole silently wonders for the millionth time what she possibly could have done to deserve this.

“Now,” Waverly says, breaking the moment when she finally pulls away. “You want to tell me what that was all about?” she asks as she takes Nicole by the hand and tugs her over toward the bed.

Nicole sits on the bed stiffly, wiping her sweaty palms against the rough polyester of her Class A uniform pants before her hands begin to fidget with the end of her tie.

“Public speaking,” she croaks out, her voice cracking in the process. She clears her throat roughly a few times, looking anywhere but at Waverly in the process. “I just can’t do it. Please don’t make me go…” she pleads, finally turning back toward Waverly.

“I would never _make_ you do anything, Nicole,” Waverly says, grabbing one of Nicole’s shaking hands and pulling it into her lap. “But…” She can’t hide the confusion on her face. It would be adorable if Nicole wasn’t such a goddamn mess right now. “I don’t understand, baby. You’re _so good_ at talking to people.”

“That’s different.” Nicole waves her other hand around. “When I’m on the job. It’s _different.”_

“How?” Waverly asks, and Nicole can tell she’s genuinely curious, not just being contrary. “You’re so calm when you’re talking to people on a call. Interviewing a witness or taking a statement. Calming someone down after an accident. I’ve seen the way you are with them,” Waverly encourages, her eyes shining brightly and her voice tinged with awe. 

Nicole’s face begins to burn and she turns away, embarrassed by the unadulterated praise.

“You deal with people when most of them are having the worst day of their lives, but _you_ are the one they want to see when that happens.” Waverly reaches out and takes Nicole’s other hand, waiting until Nicole turns back toward her. “There’s a reason Nedley wants you to be the next Sheriff now that he’s retiring, Nicole. The entire town is behind you.”

“Not the _entire_ town,” Nicole grumbles. “Not Bunny Loblaw. And she rules over the City Council with an iron fistula,” she adds.

“Ol’ Honey Bunny can _suck it,”_ Waverly seethes, and Nicole’s eyes go wide. Waverly has always been fiery with her opinions, but it still catches Nicole off guard sometimes when she’s so visceral about it. “Besides,” Waverly continues, ignoring Nicole’s raised eyebrow, “that’s why we’re doing this whole ‘Town Hall’ thing tonight.”

“Waverly…” Nicole whines, but Waverly doesn’t let her pull away.

“You’ve had good luck on the campaign trail so far,” Waverly says. Nicole opens her mouth, but Waverly pushes on before she can protest again. “We even won over the Fire Department, and that’s something Nedley _still_ hasn’t been able to do, even after thirty years.”

“I still don’t know what I’m going to do with a dozen ‘hunky fireman’ calendars…” Nicole snorts and rolls her eyes.

“I’m sure Wynonna can find a good use for them,” Waverly giggles.

“Aaaaaahhhhh!” Nicole shudders, squeezing her eyes closed and shaking her head dramatically. “Why did you have to put that image in my head? Ugh.” She pulls a face, scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue like there’s a bad taste in her mouth.

Waverly just continues to giggle.

“Speaking of Wynonna...” Nicole hesitates, sighing. “I overheard her threatening Bunny after that whole disaster the other day. She seems to think I’ll have her support now no matter what.” She peeks up at Waverly again. “Maybe that means we don’t even have to go through with this whole thing tonight?” she asks hopefully.

“Nicole Haught,” Waverly admonishes, giving Nicole the _disappointed teacher_ look she’s scarily good at. Nicole shrinks away immediately, scrunching up her shoulders sheepishly. “You and I both know that if you don’t earn the Council’s support fair and square and win the election on your own merit, you’ll never be able to live with yourself.”

“I know,” Nicole admits, hanging her head. “She just hates me so much,” she mumbles.

“Well, the feeling’s mutual,” Waverly grumbles, and Nicole can’t help but grin at the fierceness radiating off of her girlfriend. “But this Town Hall tonight is going to change that. You’re gonna prove to her _and_ the Council that you’re the only one for the job, and that they have no choice but to back you with their full support.”

“Do I have to?” Nicole whines again.

“Yep!” Waverly answers cheerily, hopping up from the bed. Before she pulls Nicole up next to her by the hands, she leans down and whispers against the shell of Nicole’s ear, “But I promise the rewards will be worth it.”

With that, she twirls on her heel and flits out the door, leaving Nicole standing alone in the middle of their bedroom, tugging at her collar that suddenly feels three sizes too tight.

“Come on, _Sheriff_ Haught!” she hears Waverly calling from downstairs. “We’re gonna be late!”

Nicole forces herself to put one foot in front of the other until she’s reached the door, pausing briefly in front of the mirror to straighten her tie and smooth her hands over the front of her shirt one last time.

_How does she always manage to do this to me?_ Nicole wonders, shaking her head at herself in the mirror before finally pulling the bedroom door closed behind her and joining Waverly at the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

“You’re pacing again, Haught.”

Wynonna sits with her feet propped up on a nearby table, a fresh coffee in her hand. Nicole had insisted that there was no booze allowed through the door tonight, confiscating Wynonna’s bottle of Varmint Whiskey before coming in through the back entrance, but she’s pretty sure there’s not just coffee in that cup if the self-satisfied smirk on Wynonna’s face is any indication.

“What… Did you take a hit of smack before we got here tonight?”

Nicole ignores her, unable to focus on anything but the blood pounding in her ears. The Community Center is packed full, standing room only, and Nicole feels like she’s drowning in the cacophony of voices echoing off the walls in the main auditorium.

She ceases her pacing long enough to peek through the curtain that separates the preparation room from the stage, already lit up with a podium in the middle, a microphone perched proudly atop it like some kind of satirical bird of prey waiting to feed on her dying body.

_Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god._

“Looks like you drew a full house tonight, Haughtshot,” Wynonna cackles.

_Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god._

“Knock it off, Wynonna,” Waverly scolds as she hurries into the room, coming from the main entrance. She pulls Nicole away from the curtain by her arm. “Chrissy and I already went through _all_ of your ‘Vote for Haught’ buttons when we were handing them out at the door!”

_Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god._

“Soooooo many people…”

_“Wynonna! _ I think it’s time for you to go and find your seat,” Waverly says sternly, pointing at the door.

“But–”

_“Now.”_

_“Fine._ God. It’s bad enough having the Five-O as my bestie, but now my sister is the Fun Police, too,” she grumbles as she shuffles out of the room.

“Okay, baby. Are you ready?” Waverly asks, placing her hands on Nicole’s shoulders and looking up into her eyes.

“No,” Nicole chokes. _“Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god.”_

“You’ve got this, Nic,” Waverly says, squeezing her shoulders. “You’ve practiced your speech a hundred times. It’s time to show them what kind of Sheriff you’re gonna be.”

“What if I forget the words?” Nicole gasps, her eyes going wide, like she hadn’t considered that possibility before.

“You won’t. You know it by heart.”

“But what if I do?”

“You _won’t._ That’s why I made you these color-coded notecards, just in case,” Waverly reassures her, tapping the cards sticking out of Nicole’s breast pocket.

“But what if–”

“Nicole. Stop. Look at me.”

Nicole’s mouth snaps shut, and she stares dumbly at Waverly, her hands flexing at her sides.

“I’ll be in the front row. I saved my seat as soon as we got here.” She waves a hand toward the auditorium. “Don’t focus on them, baby. Just look at me. I’m right here.”

Nicole nods and swallows hard.

“It’s just you and me in there, okay? Just like when you were practicing your speech for me at your house.”

_“Waverly,”_ Nicole whispers harshly, her eyes darting around the empty room. “We were _naked_ when I was practicing the speech for you.”

“Exactly,” Waverly grins wickedly, reaching up to pat Nicole playfully on the cheek. “Isn’t that so much better than just imagining the audience in their underwear?”

_“Waverly,”_ Nicole squeaks again.

“Nicole Haught,” Waverly says, serious again. “I believe in you. I’ve _always_ believed in you. You are good at your job – maybe the best cop this town has ever seen. You _deserve_ to be Sheriff. Now go out there and get it!”

She pushes up on her tiptoes and gives Nicole an enthusiastic kiss, and then she’s gone, the curtain swishing behind her as she disappears onto the stage.

Nicole hears Waverly speaking into the microphone, but she doesn’t register any of the words. Not until the auditorium erupts in a round of applause.

That must be her cue. No more putting this off. It’s time. She takes another deep breath, adjusting her uniform and tie one last time before stepping out on the stage.

_I’ve got this,_ she thinks as her fingers wrap around the edges of the podium. _Waverly believes in me._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone for reading. I am always up for questions and discussions.
> 
> You can find me on both Twitter and Tumblr: @iamthegaysmurf


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